Category Archives: Restaurant

{  Hyoki — 瓢喜  }

Hyoki -- 瓢喜 西麻布店
Hyoki -- 瓢喜 西麻布店
Hyoki -- 瓢喜 西麻布店
Hyoki -- 瓢喜 西麻布店
Hyoki -- 瓢喜 西麻布店

Happy New Year! 明けましておめでとうございます。今年もどうぞよろしくお願い致します。

Just got back from my two week long vacation to Brazil and I have quite a bit of work backed up but I’m happy to be back home. Brazil summers are very hot and humid just like Japan which I’m not a fan of but we attended the most beautiful wedding there and had a great time. Unfortunately I got the most mosquito bites ever and it sucks… Hopefully will get around to posting some photos from my trip in the next few weeks but for now, I’m very excited to share this awesome restaurant with you. Hope everyone had a fun and safe New Years. Wishing you all a wonderful 2014 ahead!

xo,
Maki

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I highly recommend this shabu shabu restaurant if you can visit here during lunch time between Monday-Friday since they offer an amazing lunch set for only 980yen!

This shabu shabu restaurant is pricey for dinner service, but their weekday lunch service is almost too good to be true. You need to take off your shoes when you first walk in but you then get to dine in a private room with tatami flooring. The staff are all women in kimono’s which really adds to the authentic and old-school Japanese vibe they have.

Pictured above is the weekly lunch set (which changes weekly) “butano kakuni” lunch set for 980yen. The other dish shown above is the “Pork hari hari jitate” lunch set for 980yen. The portions may look small in the photo but they are actually quite filling. It’s really quite amazing to get such a well-balanced meal with high quality ingredients for this price in Nishiazabu.

If you want a great Japanese lunch experience that is affordable, hands down this is the place to check out.

Address // Nishiazabu 1106, 1-10-6, Nishiazabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-6804-5113
Website // http://www.hyoki.jp/

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{  Brooklyn Parlor  }

Brooklyn Parlor
Brooklyn Parlor
Brooklyn Parlor
Brooklyn Parlor
Brooklyn Parlor

Brooklyn Parlor is a really cool space located underground in the Shijuku 3-chome. The vibe is really nice as it’s decorated with red bricks, wood tables, multi-colored chairs and lots of books. This place accommodates everyone – anywhere from a single guest to large groups since it’s an unusually massive space for Tokyo.

We looked around and many people were eating the burger so we had to get one. Pictured above are the ‘Avocado & Chedder Cheese Burger’, the ‘Grilled Bacon & Scrambled Egg Burger’, and the ‘Mushroom & Mozzarella Burger’ all for 1575yen each (including fries and a salad). The burgers were all really tasty and we enjoyed the ambiance, food, and company. We dined here on a Saturday during lunch time and it was a very crowded day so we were limited to only a 2 hr stay but the food came fast so we didn’t feel rushed.

The other dishes also looked good, going to have to come back for sure.

Address // B1F, 3-1-26, Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-6457-7763
Website // http://www.brooklynparlor.co.jp/

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{  Yasaiyamei — やさい家めい  }

Yasaiyamei -- やさい家めい
Yasaiyamei -- やさい家めい
Yasaiyamei -- やさい家めい
Yasaiyamei -- やさい家めい

This restaurant is located on the 3rd floor inside of Omotesando Hills. We visited during lunch time and quickly realized this was a popular spot for lunch as we had to wait a little before we were seated.

Yasaiyamei is famous for their fresh vegetable lunches and the restaurant is mostly filled with women. They have several lunch sets and the photos on their menu make their lunch sets look way better than the actual dishes themselves when they come out.

Ordered the seasonal rice set for 1690yen and the tempura lunch set for 1390yen. Considering how highly rated this place has been, we thought the food was a little underwhelming but still decent enough to post in case you’re looking for a place to dine inside of Omotesando hills. The portions are large but the dishes are a little pricey.

Address // 4-12-10, Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-5785-0606
Website // http://eat-walk.com/mei/

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{  Tokyoen — 東京苑  }

Tokyoen -- 東京苑
Tokyoen -- 東京苑
Tokyoen -- 東京苑
Tokyoen -- 東京苑
Tokyoen -- 東京苑

Tokyoen is a yakiniku place that has a few different branches. We went to the one in Yutenji and had an amazing experience.

They have tons of different types of meat but we chose their most famous ones: the “10 second sirloin” and the “3 second sirloin”. As the names suggest, you only have to grill the meat for a few seconds and then dip it into several sauces of your choice and the meat literally melts in your mouth. The meat is oh so soft, we’ve never had anything like this. The “3 second sirloin” is more fatty than the “10 second sirloin” so we liked the “10 second” one more. We also ordered Kalbi and a few popular meats from the specials of the day. Everything was so good but we liked the Kalbi so much we had to get seconds. As for side dishes, we ordered the Kakuteki (radish that is pickled Korean-style), the Tokyoen salad, the vegetable kuppa (a rice soup dish), and Korean-style cold noodles. YUMMM. Finished it off with the Almond Jelly dessert for only 100yen. No wonder this place is so popular, we loved everything about this place- the presentation of the food (especially how the meat came out!), the ambiance, and the service.

The average price that people spend at this Yakiniku place is around 5000~6000yen per person. We ate a good amount but since we didn’t order any alcohol, our bill was much lower than what we expected (just under 4000yen per person). Not bad at all! Highly recommend this place for meat lovers, you won’t regret it. Make sure you make reservations.

Note: Closed on Tuesday. Restaurant opens at 17:00.

Address // 2-38-28, Nakacho, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-3793-3878
Website // http://www.toukyoen.sakura.ne.jp/index.html

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{  VOVO — ボボ  }

VOVO -- ボボ
VOVO -- ボボ
VOVO -- ボボ
VOVO -- ボボ

Another yummy curry place in Gakudai. VOVO curry opened in April 2013 and is making a name for itself with its spicy curry (beef curry) as well as its other deliciously flavored curry. I saw this place on TV so I decided to check it out. It’s a small shop but it has some nice retro touches.

The curry is only 1000yen during lunch time and it comes with a small side salad. During lunchtime you can order the combo for 1000yen and try 2 flavors of curry. We both ordered the veggie + butter chicken combo. Both curries were very tasty and I really enjoyed the flavors. I don’t know how they make the rice and two different flavors of curry look so nice on one plate but the presentation was perfection. The portions are rather small so we felt that it wasn’t quite enough food for us. The little condiments on the side were also good and are spice + pickles to go with your rice.

I still love sync curry a bit more but this is a new spot that is not to be missed!

Address // 2-21-8, Takaban, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-3713-6334
Website // n/a

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